I'm loving this book so far but I'm also very interested in how polarising this book is here on /lit/.
Let's have a casual discussion about this book: why do you love it? Why do you hate it? Did you have a favourite scene/passage/paragraph/etc? Did the book disappoint you? What did you honestly expect when reading this? (that's not a sarcastic question, I'm genuinely interested since people's perception of this book often seems to differ from what they actually read)
Also why is this the best Moby Dick cover?
Read it when I was 14, was pretty good and I enjoyed the chapter about Captain Ahab's dream the most. I had a dictionary with me though so it was difficult to read straight through comfortably.
>>7835938
I personally expected most of the book to focus on tracking down Moby Dick butthey don't set sail until after the first 100 pages and you don't hear about Moby Dick until after the first 200 pages. I'm not complaining, but it was quite a surprise when I first started reading it, but I love the pacing of this book. It won't be for everyone, but I'm even fascinated by the methods and means of how the whalers would strip the whale carcass and the superstitions of the men aboard the ship.the bit where Tastego gets stuck in the whale head and the whale head sinks, Queequeg being the only one able to save him by diving down and cutting him out of the head had me on the edge of my seat; plus when Stubb kills his sperm whale is brutal too, blood spouting from the blow hole. The book is downright brutal and grisly at times which surprised me, although maybe it shouldn't surprise me since it is a book focusing on whaling.
>>7835938
I expected Ahab to be an absolute dire human being who should be disdained and hated, but in fact what you end up getting from him is somebody self-tormented and unable to enjoy anything ever, feeling burdened and constantly troubled. I felt a tad sorry for Ahab.
>>7836029
The bit where the thumping of Ahab's heart as he recovered from losing his leg is equated to the thumping of his dead leg on the deck of the Pequod gave me shivers.
>tfw you get sick on a boat
>tfw your friends build a coffin out of a canoe for you
>tfw you lie down in it and prepare for death's sweet embrace
>tfw you suddenly get better and decide to keep living
>tfw you turn your coffin canoe into an ornate piece of art
>tfw you die in a boat anywayrip Queequeg
>>7836001
the violence in the book certainly is quite a spectacle
>>7835976
damn… I think I would've struggled with this book at 14. I know some schools in America teach it in their classes though which even surprises me: the book is genuinely dense and challenging to tackle (not unenjoyable but it's not necessarily a breeze either). I guess it was a productive experience reading it with a dictionary though due to how expressive and detailed the vocabulary is in this book.
>>7836148
I did struggle a fair but, but it really was a productive experience. I wasn't able to read it for long intervals since it would be mentally tiring, it was my first time delving into a book like that with it's vocabulary.
In a side note, I found he ending unsatisfying. I understand that Ahab was frantic with vengeance and with killing something that took what he valued, which was what he used to get around. I somehow thing it could've climaxed better. There were a good amount of pages on it so I guess the ending wasn't that bad.
I'm currently on chapter 60 something. It's incredible how packed this book is with metaphor. I feel like I'm doing it a disservice to not write all over it and put sticky notes wherever I notice a parallel that melville draws.
I will have to re-read
My recommendation would be to read it and not worry about not completely understanding what Melville was trying to say. Just read it and come back to it in a few years. It's one of those books that changes as time passes.
>>7835938
Is the spanish translation any good?
>>7836235
which one?
>>7836219
It's certainly one of those books I do plan on revisiting three or four years down the line.
>>7836239
I don't know, how many there are? Which is the best one?
> tfw you will never be the Queequeg to somebody's Ishmael
That's a truly pure form of friendship and admiration.
>>7836235
Stop
>>7836361
Why? English is my fourth language and i dont think i will be able to understand a book as dense as this with my current level of english.
>>7836375
Why speak english if you're not even going to try?
>>7836458
I tried and i failed. I can't start reading in english with moby dick
>>7836471
Then dont read moby dick until you can you fucking shit skin cuck. God i hate these garbage lazy spics so fucking much. i wish i could nuke your entire language
Finished Moby Dick earlier today and it feels like I've only just discovered a personal old favourite, like I've known the book for years beforehand. It's definitely going to be one of those books I read throughout my life at different points, and I'll probably talk about it incessantly to my grandchildren if I live long enough.
>>7836609
>spic
kek
so i guess you read dosto in russian and mishima in japanese and cortazar in spanish , right?
>>7836609
> nuke the language that gave us Don Quixote
Not the Spanish anon, but people read translations all the time. Some are obviously more favourable than others, I think it's fairly reasonable for the other anon to ask for some recommendations on good translations (especially if the guy has actually attempted to read Moby Dick in English anyway - the book's difficult for many native English speakers anyway, it's bound to be almost incomprehensible to somebody whose first language isn't English).
You're a rather ignorant kind of anon that can't appreciate that people rely on translations and that the Spanish language has contributed with wonderful works of literature.
>>7836029
This. Very surprised with how fascinating Ahab actually was, was also somewhat surprised that the most famous and well-known part of the book is the final three chapters whereas the rest of the book seems like it is casually skimmed over in any representation of the book in other forms of media.
>>7836634
>>7836636
Are you fucking kidding me?
Its [current year] and you're defending people that post on an english language website yet dont even want to read books written in english? Not everyone can read russian but if i had the ability to post on a russian website, i would certainly read the brothers karamazov in russian.
I dont believe that the shitskins that post on /lit/ dont have the ability to read moby dick in english. they're just being the lazy pieces of shit that they were born as
>>7836661
ok,so i guess you are trolling now, bye.
>>7836704
This is when you know someone loses an argument on 4chan. Adios, spic
best book ever
Can a 20 year old read this book
What's the best paperback edition of this book to buy? Pingu and Vintage seem to be cheap but oddly cheap so idk if they're well bound or abridged or some shit
>>7836770
I suggest you buy a good hardcover, anon
Save some cash and get it
it's one of those books that's worth every cent and should be read in a decent print with a good introduction
>>7836712
i hate to think that you exist on the planet with me
>>7836471
it's fine to read a translation. it's your fourth fucking language, the anon calling you spic is godless and sad and speaks one language (english)
i admire you for speaking so many languages. Moby Dick isn't like Ulysses where translations don't work; Melville has a pretty straightforward delivery, so reading it in translation is no biggie. unfortunately i don't know what translation would be best.
>>7836800
I really dont know why leftists have such a hard time with comprehension. Its like you guys just close your eyes to the facts.
IF YOU CAN READ AND WRITE IN ENGLISH ON 4CHAN. YOU CAN READ A FUCKING ENGLISH BOOK LIKE MOBY DICK
GOD FUCKING DAMN
>>7836844
>IF YOU CAN READ AND WRITE IN ENGLISH ON 4CHAN. YOU CAN READ A FUCKING ENGLISH BOOK LIKE MOBY DICK
/Lit/ in a nutshell guys.
>>7836768
dont bother
>>7836768
Why not? I'm reading it and I'm 23.
>>7836770
I have a Penguin edition and the spine is fine, but it depends on the Penguin edition. If you go for their black classic edition, the spines are usually pretty bad, but if you go for those minimalist cover editions like pic related, the spine is surprisingly very good.
>>7836875
That's what I meant by polarising, although I wouldn't call somebody stupid simply if they disliked Moby Dick, but I do find it surprising when some anons state they dislike the book for the exact same reasons why I love it (to each their own of course, but still..)
>>7836876
????????????¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿
>>7836876
Are you actually going to debate the claim or no
>>7836876
Don't generalise the board because of one guy baiting, please. Thank you.
>>7836768
I read it when I was 15 and I'm an idiot so yes.
how the hell can english be your fourth language please explain this
which fucking two different foreign languages did you take the time to become proficient at before deciding that picking up english was a good fucking idea?
s m h
26, English is my second language, braced Ulysses like having a blunt spear punching through my head, now starting to read Moby Dick. Honestly a bit anxious, but at the same time very excited
